LDP heading into legal tangle as 23 sacked, suspended members intend to proceed with Sept 6 meeting

LDP president V.K.Liew.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is heading into a legal tangle with the 23 sacked or suspended supreme council members intending to proceed with a meeting convened on Sept 6.

Party deputy president Datuk Chin Su Phin who was among those suspended by president Datuk Liew Vui Keong said the Sept 6 meeting was legally bound to be held as 27 of the 35 supreme council members had called for on Aug 29.

“That meeting still stands as more than two thirds of the supreme council members had signed a requisition for the meeting as provided for under Section 14A of our party constitution,” Chin told The Star on Sunday.

Liew’s newly appointed treasurer general Loretto Padua who replaced sacked predecessor Datuk Teo Chee Kang had rejected the meeting.

He also questioned the legality of Liew’s move of convening a newly constituted LDP presidential council meeting attended by eight members on Aug 31 in Sandakan.

Chin said the legality of the newly constituted presidential council was doubtful as five LDP office bearers whom Liew had sacked had not received letters to that effect nor given any acknowledgement.

The five were deputy secretary general Ho Jia Lit, treasurer general Fong Keng Sin, deputy treasurer general Albert Ngan Yun Kiang, Chief publicity officer Albert Kok Yuk Ken and organising secretary Yong Wui Chung.

Chin said the presidential council was re-constituted with the appointment of five other individual to the posts and was thus illegal.

“It follows that any decision of this so called reconstituted presidential council is also illegal,” he added.

Liew had said that the presidential council gave him the power to fill the vacancies of those supreme council members who have been removed or suspended within the shortest possible time.

Earlier this week, Liew sacked secretary general Datuk Teo Chee Kang when he announced plans to take on the presidency but the move prompted a mutiny with 27 of the 35 supreme council members demanding for a meeting of the supreme council.

Liew maintained that the Aug 31 presidential council was held to uphold the June supreme council decision for the top two positions of the party not to be contested at the coming party elections.

Any action against the no contest resolution, Liew said a departure from that resolution would set a bad precedent for the future and any member that willfully disobeys the resolution would be liable to be suspended.